|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
By Samuel Torlumun
The Director-General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his commitment to revitalizing the raw materials subsector of Nigeria’s economy.
Ike-Muonso made the commendation at the African Raw Materials Summit 2025, describing the President’s initiatives as “laudable” and “unrivalled” in promoting economic prosperity.
He noted that President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda is driving an industrial renaissance, rooted in local transformation, inclusive prosperity, and strategic value addition.
The RMRDC DG highlighted that the proposed bill at the National Assembly, which aims to ensure a minimum of 30 per cent value addition to every raw material before it crosses Nigeria’s borders.
His words: “Here in Nigeria, under the visionary leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the ‘Nigeria First Policy’ is lighting the flames of an industrial renaissance, a Renewed Hope rooted in local transformation, inclusive prosperity, and strategic value addition.
Ike-Muonso declared that “a situation in which the raw minerals are extracted from our countries, exported, refined, and sold to us as finished products merely consolidate the foundations of our misery and pushes us further down the depths of underdevelopment”.
The DG emphasized that the summit marks a moment for Africa to reclaim its narrative, redefine its destiny, and rededicate itself to transforming raw wealth into real wealth.
According to him, “This summit is not just a dialogue; it is Africa’s proclamation of industrial independence, a renewed consciousness of authentically becoming producers of value rather than exporters of potential.”
Ike-Muonso highlighted RMRDC’s efforts in promoting value addition and industrialization, including the development of a Data-Driven Raw Materials Information System (DARMIS).
He stated that DARMIS provides real-time intelligence for investors, producers, and policymakers, enabling informed decision-making and strategic investment.
He therefore called on African countries to adopt, adapt, and advance the revolution in raw materials development in the continent, stressing the need for a raw materials data-smart, production-driven, and proudly self-reliant continent.
He said; “at RMRDC, we are not waiting for miracles. We are building models. Our DARMIS, the first in Nigeria, is a digital transformation engine. With precision, it maps our raw material resources, traces value chains, and provides real-time intelligence for investors, producers, and policymakers.
“From talc in Niger State to phosphate in Sokoto State. From the coal in Enugu State to the limestones in Cross River State. From the lithium in Nassarawa to the granite in Ekiti State. We know what we have and more importantly, what we must do with it. Insight before investment. Data before deployment. To all Africans, we say: This is a replicable revolution. Adopt it. Adapt it. Advance it. Let us build a raw materials data-smart, production-driven, and proudly self-reliant continent”, Ike-Muonso further stated.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.